bad bodywork repair advice needed

[Ktg]

I am selling my vw and had a very small surface scratch on my drivers door. I had to look to find, it but as I am selling it I wanted to paintwork to be perfect. I took it to a vw specialist (although not authorised dealer) on the basis that they were professional looking outfit and a family run business with good reviews. When I dropped it off I was told the guy wasn't in yet but I would get a call including an estimate before any work was done. I mentioned that there was some touch up paint in the glove box if they needed it from when an authorised dealer touched up some much worse scratches a couple of years ago (leaving a perfect finish as though it was brand new and did it free of charge, although 200 miles away in Manchester where I previously lived).

 

I naively left reassured that I would get a call, and that there was no commitment if I didn't want to go ahead, but that it was probably a cheap straightforward job as I had experienced in the past (I also walked to the tube with another customer who said they had used them for years and they were very good).

 

I didn't receive a call so chased them and was told they hadn't looked at it yet. I finally got a call towards the end of the day to be told they had gone ahead and 'done the best they could' and as it was a ten minute job it was done on goodwill. I was a bit anxious they'd gone ahead but thought it was very kind of them to do it for free.

 

It was dark when I picked it up but when I got home, under lamplight, it was clear that the scratch was much much worse and clearly visible. It now looks like there are in fact 2 scratches where the edges of the touch up paint are. I rang them straight away and was told that yes touch up paint tends to do that, to which I replied had they told me this before doing the work I would have said not to bother. He said to get some T-Cut and that would sort it out.

 

This morning I took it to an authorised VW bodyshop who told me that because of the mess they made they would need to take it down to the metal and respray at a cost of around £300-400. I feel like an idiot for not going to an authorised dealer but there are none local and I needed somewhere convenient I could drop off on my way to work and have it sorted before a viewing this weekend. As I was told I would get a call before they did anything I believed that they would give me proper advice and therefore the option to go elsewhere if I didn't want to commit.

 

I really don't know where I stand now. The original bodyshop gave me no paperwork and I didn't take a 'before' picture. I was wondering whether insurance would cover it but again I don't know whether they would cover something like this.

 

I now face up to £400 cost to remove what was originally a barely noticeable scratch on a car I'm not even keeping. Can anyone advise what I should do?

 

Apologies for the essay! Any advice much appreciated.

[Kiki1]

Take it back to the original garage and get them to repair it. Since they claim T-cut will fix it, it should be a five minute job for the garage that gave the advice.